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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Cautionary Tale (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 6/20/2010 10:42:42 AM EDT
Was with an ARFcommer who told me to check the barrel - saving the gun and maybe some body parts. I owe him one 
On my way to HD for a wooden dowel to fix it. Had some issues with the powder drop and loaded maybe 5-8 defective rounds Truthy be told I thing there is more than one stuck - AAR later. |
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Glad to hear all fingers are intact!
Rob Robideau Personal Armament Podcast |
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In my entire shooting and reloading life I've only stuck a bullet one time, this was before I got a Dillon 550 back in 85. I was shooting one of my 9mm pistols, I got a pop instead of a bang, I knew instantly it was a squib, unloaded and found a bullet stuck in the barrel, so loading a squib can even be done on a single stage press! If something about the discharge is unusual, STOP! Check things out before going any further! |
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Here is what happened - I had some issues with the powder drop and had loaded a few with not enough of a charge.
One small "pop," but I thought I hit the target. Next one spit powder and such all over my face. After being all ready to shoot (and maybe blow up the gun and who knows what else), a ARF member shooting with me told me to check the barrel - that is the photo. So I put things away and went to the carnival last night with the family. Today while examining the barrel - I noted the distance didn't add up - ergo TWO in the barrel. The first undercharged round that did NOT hit the target and then round #2 that spit all the powder back at me. So I go to Lowes - and get some dowels - beat the shit out of them and snap 3 off. Set the barrel up on the press and drilled through both bullets - hoping to create some space for them to collapse inward as I pound them out. No such luck. So now the barrel is submerged in Mobil 1, hopefully making it easier Monday. I took a piece of 3/8 all thread rod, taped it up real good so as not to damage the barrel. It's gonna take some pounding to get the thing clear. Naturally - I charged a case - checked the charge, seated a bullet and weighed the entire thing so I can check what remains of the 50 I loaded to test without pulling them. Sometimes fate has you in its grip; it either takes you or turns you looses a bit wiser. Luckily for me it was the latter. I loaded 500 in 40 S&W and they all ran like factory as far as function. I didn't run all of them, but am really confident as I saw each charge, etc. I screwed up loading the .45 and noticed something was amis. When I get it done, I'll run 100 or so factory to make sure it functions properly. BTW it's a SA Loaded 1911. |
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http://www.marylandshooter.com/ar15pics/1911/caution.jpg Was with an ARFcommer who told me to check the barrel - saving the gun and maybe some body parts. I owe him one
On my way to HD for a wooden dowel to fix it. Had some issues with the powder drop and loaded maybe 5-8 defective rounds Truthy be told I thing there is more than one stuck - AAR later. Local range owner here had a tale of a guy who came to the desk with a jammed revolver....cylinder wouldn't turn. He suspected a squib round. He found the barrel completely plugged with them. Four consecutive rounds with primers and no powder apparently, with the last protruding out the end of the barrel. He claimed they were gun show reloads. I'm a firm believer in knowing who loaded my ammo. |
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Here is what happened - I had some issues with the powder drop and had loaded a few with not enough of a charge. One small "pop," but I thought I hit the target. Next one spit powder and such all over my face. After being all ready to shoot (and maybe blow up the gun and who knows what else), a ARF member shooting with me told me to check the barrel - that is the photo. So I put things away and went to the carnival last night with the family. Today while examining the barrel - I noted the distance didn't add up - ergo TWO in the barrel. The first undercharged round that did NOT hit the target and then round #2 that spit all the powder back at me. So I go to Lowes - and get some dowels - beat the shit out of them and snap 3 off. Set the barrel up on the press and drilled through both bullets - hoping to create some space for them to collapse inward as I pound them out. No such luck. So now the barrel is submerged in Mobil 1, hopefully making it easier Monday. I took a piece of 3/8 all thread rod, taped it up real good so as not to damage the barrel. It's gonna take some pounding to get the thing clear. Naturally - I charged a case - checked the charge, seated a bullet and weighed the entire thing so I can check what remains of the 50 I loaded to test without pulling them. Sometimes fate has you in its grip; it either takes you or turns you looses a bit wiser. Luckily for me it was the latter. I loaded 500 in 40 S&W and they all ran like factory as far as function. I didn't run all of them, but am really confident as I saw each charge, etc. I screwed up loading the .45 and noticed something was amis. When I get it done, I'll run 100 or so factory to make sure it functions properly. BTW it's a SA Loaded 1911. The part in red = fail. If you're beating on them, they will compress and stick tighter in the bore. DO NOT beat on them any more. Get a copper or brass rod as close to bore size as possible. Hold the bbl perpendicular to the floor, and let the rod drop a couple of inches to impact the bullet. It will take a while to get them out, but you won't damage the barrel or stick them any worse. Also, this is why cast bullets are teh shizzle. They push right out with hand pressure. Ask me how I know. 
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I took a piece of 3/8 all thread rod, taped it up real good so as not to damage the barrel. It's gonna take some pounding to get the thing clear.
Just wondering what would happen if you tap out the bullets now that you have drilled through both of them and thread the proper size screw through the bullets one at a time, will you be able to pull them out? This would give you an external hold on the bullet which you can use to pull them out. |
| Yea, if you read the above post from OP, he “Set the barrel up on the press and drilled through both bullets - hoping to create some space for them to collapse inward” So the holes are already there although they could be a bit smashed up after he beat the hell out of them. But, if he could do it once, he could do it again! The difference between pulling and beating it with a rod is that there tends to be less compression. I also think the problem here is that he has TWO in the barrel! |
| Actually an easier method might be to just use a long screw with a self taping thread since the lead is really pretty soft and no tapping is probably necessary. This is really not such a strange method as it is basically a modification of the technique that is often used to remove stuck brass from FL resizing die. |
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I was at a local range this weekend, and watched almost the same thing happen to someone else. This guy had bought some reloads from the range to use in his 1911. I had noticed the last shot through his 1911 didn't cycle, and sounded like a .22. After checking the barrel, there was no obstruction, but there easily could have been. |
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A guy in my first CCW class stacked up 6 .38 bullets in his revolver. He wasn't hitting the target much,I believe that  so he didn't notice until he saw the bottom of the barrel was split. You could see all 6 bullets stacked up in there. How I wish I'd had a camera. |
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Here is what happened - I had some issues with the powder drop and had loaded a few with not enough of a charge. One small "pop," but I thought I hit the target. Next one spit powder and such all over my face. After being all ready to shoot (and maybe blow up the gun and who knows what else), a ARF member shooting with me told me to check the barrel - that is the photo. So I put things away and went to the carnival last night with the family. Today while examining the barrel - I noted the distance didn't add up - ergo TWO in the barrel. The first undercharged round that did NOT hit the target and then round #2 that spit all the powder back at me. So I go to Lowes - and get some dowels - beat the shit out of them and snap 3 off. Set the barrel up on the press and drilled through both bullets - hoping to create some space for them to collapse inward as I pound them out. No such luck. So now the barrel is submerged in Mobil 1, hopefully making it easier Monday. I took a piece of 3/8 all thread rod, taped it up real good so as not to damage the barrel. It's gonna take some pounding to get the thing clear. Naturally - I charged a case - checked the charge, seated a bullet and weighed the entire thing so I can check what remains of the 50 I loaded to test without pulling them. Sometimes fate has you in its grip; it either takes you or turns you looses a bit wiser. Luckily for me it was the latter. I loaded 500 in 40 S&W and they all ran like factory as far as function. I didn't run all of them, but am really confident as I saw each charge, etc. I screwed up loading the .45 and noticed something was amis. When I get it done, I'll run 100 or so factory to make sure it functions properly. BTW it's a SA Loaded 1911. The part in red = fail. If you're beating on them, they will compress and stick tighter in the bore. DO NOT beat on them any more. Get a copper or brass rod as close to bore size as possible. Hold the bbl perpendicular to the floor, and let the rod drop a couple of inches to impact the bullet. It will take a while to get them out, but you won't damage the barrel or stick them any worse. Also, this is why cast bullets are teh shizzle. They push right out with hand pressure. Ask me how I know. I don't get it - are you saying push it the long way down the barrel? What is the difference between tapping against a floor, using brass or a hammer and wooden dowel/piece of ATR? |
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Yea, if you read the above post from OP, he “Set the barrel up on the press and drilled through both bullets - hoping to create some space for them to collapse inward” So the holes are already there although they could be a bit smashed up after he beat the hell out of them. But, if he could do it once, he could do it again! The difference between pulling and beating it with a rod is that there tends to be less compression. I also think the problem here is that he has TWO in the barrel! Actually - I looked at the back of the one I have been hammering towards the muzzle - it's still nice and flat. I may try that or the stuck case methods mention by another poster. Or I can just drill larger and larger until little remains to be knocked out. |
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Hope it works for you. Also, my understanding is that as a general rule, and at least for a single squib, you push from the barrel and not the other way around. Push from the barrel; it has two ends. Muzzle end or breach end? I've been pounding from the muzzle breach end. E: mistake |
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Sorry, meant push from the muzzle end so you are doing the right thing. My guess is that your problem is that you have two in the pipe which complicate things.... My bad - I have been pushing from the breach - not the muzzle end. maybe that's why it's not moving much! I figured it's 1" from the end of the barrel, so I wanted to push the shortest distance. Not the way to go huh? |
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Not a problem. I am not an expert at this by any means (probably a good thing right?), but just passing the info to be helpful.
Again, I think in your case, it is complicated by the fact that you have two bullets in there and even though it sounds like they were both just running on primers, the second bullet hitting the first one may have wedge it a bit, so it is not the more straight forward situation of getting a single one stuck in the pipe. I can imagine that even if you push from the muzzle, the one closer to the muzzle is still going to be pushing against the one in the breach; this is why pulling the one closest to the breach out may be less complicated since the other bullet is not involved at all. I would suggest using the largest screw you can find without coming close to the barrel (don’t want to scratch that) and making sure that you are pulling straight out, again so as not to scratch the barrel. Once the first one comes out, the other one which is further in may come out the “regular” way using the dowel. Others feel free to chime in if you have a better idea. |
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Here is what happened - I had some issues with the powder drop and had loaded a few with not enough of a charge. One small "pop," but I thought I hit the target. Next one spit powder and such all over my face. After being all ready to shoot (and maybe blow up the gun and who knows what else), a ARF member shooting with me told me to check the barrel - that is the photo. So I put things away and went to the carnival last night with the family. Today while examining the barrel - I noted the distance didn't add up - ergo TWO in the barrel. The first undercharged round that did NOT hit the target and then round #2 that spit all the powder back at me. So I go to Lowes - and get some dowels - beat the shit out of them and snap 3 off. Set the barrel up on the press and drilled through both bullets - hoping to create some space for them to collapse inward as I pound them out. No such luck. So now the barrel is submerged in Mobil 1, hopefully making it easier Monday. I took a piece of 3/8 all thread rod, taped it up real good so as not to damage the barrel. It's gonna take some pounding to get the thing clear. Naturally - I charged a case - checked the charge, seated a bullet and weighed the entire thing so I can check what remains of the 50 I loaded to test without pulling them. Sometimes fate has you in its grip; it either takes you or turns you looses a bit wiser. Luckily for me it was the latter. I loaded 500 in 40 S&W and they all ran like factory as far as function. I didn't run all of them, but am really confident as I saw each charge, etc. I screwed up loading the .45 and noticed something was amis. When I get it done, I'll run 100 or so factory to make sure it functions properly. BTW it's a SA Loaded 1911. The part in red = fail. If you're beating on them, they will compress and stick tighter in the bore. DO NOT beat on them any more. Get a copper or brass rod as close to bore size as possible. Hold the bbl perpendicular to the floor, and let the rod drop a couple of inches to impact the bullet. It will take a while to get them out, but you won't damage the barrel or stick them any worse. Also, this is why cast bullets are teh shizzle. They push right out with hand pressure. Ask me how I know. I don't get it - are you saying push it the long way down the barrel? What is the difference between tapping against a floor, using brass or a hammer and wooden dowel/piece of ATR? A heavy impact will cause deformation, a light impact doesn't...but will likely create just enough vibration for them to move ever so slightly. |
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Here is what happened - I had some issues with the powder drop and had loaded a few with not enough of a charge. One small "pop," but I thought I hit the target. Next one spit powder and such all over my face. After being all ready to shoot (and maybe blow up the gun and who knows what else), a ARF member shooting with me told me to check the barrel - that is the photo. So I put things away and went to the carnival last night with the family. Today while examining the barrel - I noted the distance didn't add up - ergo TWO in the barrel. The first undercharged round that did NOT hit the target and then round #2 that spit all the powder back at me. So I go to Lowes - and get some dowels - beat the shit out of them and snap 3 off. Set the barrel up on the press and drilled through both bullets - hoping to create some space for them to collapse inward as I pound them out. No such luck. So now the barrel is submerged in Mobil 1, hopefully making it easier Monday. I took a piece of 3/8 all thread rod, taped it up real good so as not to damage the barrel. It's gonna take some pounding to get the thing clear. Naturally - I charged a case - checked the charge, seated a bullet and weighed the entire thing so I can check what remains of the 50 I loaded to test without pulling them. Sometimes fate has you in its grip; it either takes you or turns you looses a bit wiser. Luckily for me it was the latter. I loaded 500 in 40 S&W and they all ran like factory as far as function. I didn't run all of them, but am really confident as I saw each charge, etc. I screwed up loading the .45 and noticed something was amis. When I get it done, I'll run 100 or so factory to make sure it functions properly. BTW it's a SA Loaded 1911. The part in red = fail. If you're beating on them, they will compress and stick tighter in the bore. DO NOT beat on them any more. Get a copper or brass rod as close to bore size as possible. Hold the bbl perpendicular to the floor, and let the rod drop a couple of inches to impact the bullet. It will take a while to get them out, but you won't damage the barrel or stick them any worse. Also, this is why cast bullets are teh shizzle. They push right out with hand pressure. Ask me how I know. I don't get it - are you saying push it the long way down the barrel? What is the difference between tapping against a floor, using brass or a hammer and wooden dowel/piece of ATR? A heavy impact will cause deformation, a light impact doesn't...but will likely create just enough vibration for them to move ever so slightly. Ok - now towards the muzzle or the breech? |
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Use a correct squib rod.
Most brass comes almost fully annealed and is very soft. Squib rods are close to bore size and hardened. A dead blow hammer helps also. Wood has a nasty habit of splintering and then getting wedged tightly in the barrel, making the problem even worse. Throw some oil in and it swells up, locking even tighter. |
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I do not like to look down the barrel at things like that, particularly at the range. So, I take my calibrated "Squib Stick" to the range. It is marked so that with the bolt closed and the stick dropped in the barrel, a mark on the stick will line up with the muzzle. (I use a tinker toy stick, thanks kiddies, with a sharpie marker.) If the mark on the stick does not match up with the muzzle, everything stops. I usually employ the stick when I am experimenting with lead bullets and low pressure cowboy action loads.
ETA: Use a can of compressed air with an extension straw stuck down the barrel. Do a full dump until everything is frosty. Stuck projectile should knock right out. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent.
Sarg |
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Drilled it and pounded the sum bitch out. Nary any scratch on the barrel - looks 100% good.
All ready for some more reloads Tuesday
Actually I'll run 100 or so rounds of factory to be certain it functions, then triple check reloads. Lesson learned and I got off easy. Thanks for all the good - and not so good tips. Believe me when I say a little vibration was NEVER gonna move the bullets. I hit that thing with the force of 3 men and a boy AFTER I drilled 70% of it out. It costs to learn, but it pays to know - now I know and won't make the same mistake again. I may make others - but not this one. Special thanks to Colonel Hurtz - who saved my gun and perhaps some digits. I love happy endings
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Naturally - I charged a case - checked the charge, seated a bullet and weighed the entire thing so I can check what remains of the 50 I loaded to test without pulling them.
Congrats on getting them out. Just one last comment (as Columbo would say  ) is I would not be completely comfortable checking the rest of your reloads using the above method i.e. weighting the rounds.
To give you an idea of the range of weights one can run across in real life, I weight 24 rounds and here are some numbers. Twelve Winchester 9 mm factory white box 115 grain FMJ– High weight = 183.80 grains Low weight = 180.90 grains Difference = 2.9 grains Twelve of my own reloads with mix brass with 147 grain bullet – High weight = 213.08 grains Low weight = 208.46 grains Difference = 4.620 grains I reload with a Lee Turret press, and as a rule, no bullets goes on top of a casing until I visually confirm that powder is present and I use a digital scale to check the powder weight every 10 rounds. So as you can see, if I happen to miss putting powder (up to 5 grains) in the high weight reload round, there is no possible way that I could detect the absence of powder using the weight of the complete round. I realize that you are working with a 45 but I think the same thing holds true. Good luck. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) |
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I'm not sure if I've seen this mentioned yet...
But this is the prime reason I use a loading block. I drop the powder in the 40 rounds my loading block holds and then check visually that every case has the same amount of powder before I pick up the case and seat the bullets. It's very easy to pick out cases with errors in the powder level when you can compare them visually to their neighbor in the reloading block. |
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I raised my press so I can see into the case. It's a turret, so once I charge it, I can look down into the case, then grab and seat a bullet. I just have to pay closer attention.
IMO single stage/loading blocks is just way too slow. If I have to go that slow, I'll just buy ammo as it's just not cost-effective. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) If there is/was any heat treating on the barrel it is going to change. Drive them out with a squib rod. |
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I raised my press so I can see into the case. It's a turret, so once I charge it, I can look down into the case, then grab and seat a bullet. I just have to pay closer attention. IMO single stage/loading blocks is just way too slow. If I have to go that slow, I'll just buy ammo as it's just not cost-effective. Oops sorry. Somehow I got the impression you were using a single stage. Might have been another poster. My shooting buddy who loads using a Dillon manages to make a few squibs every year out of several thousand reloads. The 3/8 and 5/16 brass rods I carry in my range bag get used once or twice a year to keep the shooting session going. I have no idea how he does it... |
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I raised my press so I can see into the case. It's a turret, so once I charge it, I can look down into the case, then grab and seat a bullet. I just have to pay closer attention. IMO single stage/loading blocks is just way too slow. If I have to go that slow, I'll just buy ammo as it's just not cost-effective. Oops sorry. Somehow I got the impression you were using a single stage. Might have been another poster. My shooting buddy who loads using a Dillon manages to make a few squibs every year out of several thousand reloads. The 3/8 and 5/16 brass rods I carry in my range bag get used once or twice a year to keep the shooting session going. I have no idea how he does it... I'll get some just to try. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) If there is/was any heat treating on the barrel it is going to change. Drive them out with a squib rod. Heat treating is not a paint or other applied product. It is a hardening process that steel goes through when heated to a set temperature. Six hundred degrees does not even approach the amount of heat needed to affect the steel that gun barrels are made from. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) If there is/was any heat treating on the barrel it is going to change. Drive them out with a squib rod. Heat treating is not a paint or other applied product. It is a hardening process that steel goes through when heated to a set temperature. Six hundred degrees does not even approach the amount of heat needed to affect the steel that gun barrels are made from. I'm not certain what steels gun barrels are typically made from. I'm assuming a 4140 or 4150. 600 degrees is in the tempering range for many tool and alloy steels. For example, here's a tempering chart for 4140 |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) If there is/was any heat treating on the barrel it is going to change. Drive them out with a squib rod. Heat treating is not a paint or other applied product. It is a hardening process that steel goes through when heated to a set temperature. Six hundred degrees does not even approach the amount of heat needed to affect the steel that gun barrels are made from. Not true. It is at the lower end of the tempering for many steels, and will start to alter the structure. Most are not especially hard (or hardened) anyway, but driving out squibs with a correct rod presents no risk to anything. |
| All I've ever used for a squibb rod is a wooden dow. It's been used less than half dozen times in last 5 years. Wooden rod and brass hammer is what I use. It is a good idea to chamfur rods edge so it won't splinter. Where the barrel's concerned if I'm following story right from the beginning. You shot a squibb and followed that with another round ? If that's what happened the barrel is junk. It's humped. Look inside the barrel and spin while watching. It's humped some where. Jonathan did the same thing last week to a match grade Nowlin barrel. It not only humped it but expanded diameter from gas escaping to point the slide needs careful inspection. Have new barrel and bushing waiting for 1911 to ship from Texas. Jonathan's keeping the old $ 236.00 barrel and mounting it in a shadow box above his press to remind him to slow down. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) If there is/was any heat treating on the barrel it is going to change. Drive them out with a squib rod. Hardness goes down as the tempering temperature goes up, but more importantly, it has to "soak" at that temperature for a period of time. I'd have to check the book, but IIRC, most gun steel is going to be in the 30's or low 40's HRC and reaching 500 isn't likely to change that, especially just when the part is dipped. At the 600-700 degrees it will take to actually melt lead, I don't think it would change the hardness either, but again, the part would actually have to reach that temp to be affected anyway. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) If there is/was any heat treating on the barrel it is going to change. Drive them out with a squib rod. Heat treating is not a paint or other applied product. It is a hardening process that steel goes through when heated to a set temperature. Six hundred degrees does not even approach the amount of heat needed to affect the steel that gun barrels are made from. Sir, you are only partially correct. There are two different processes used in heat treating, the first of which is the high heat portion that changes the grain structure of the metal. With some alloys, a water/brine/oil/air quench is used to bring the temperature back down quickly, and if this step is neglected the alloy won't harden properly. The second process is tempering, which brings the alloy up to a much lower temperature, depending on the final hardness desired. Higher temperatures used for the second process results in less final hardness. |
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Lead melts at 500-600 degrees .... just take the barrel out of the pistol and put it in a LEE casting pot. Turn it on and set the barrel with the muzzle facing down. Wait 20 minutes and let gravity do the rest. Since you already drilled holes through them all the lead from both of the bullets will run out of the barrel and then you can tap out the copper jackets with ease. Since you will only be heating the steel up to 500-600 degrees it will not any negative effects on the barrel. It will also anneal the copper jackets slightly making them softer and easier to remove. Afterward give the barrel a good cleaning with a copper and lead solvent. Sarg +1 on this - surprised nobody else suggested it yet!! Did this to an el-cheapo airgun with about 15 pellets in the barrel....(back when I was working in a gunshop in New Zealand) If there is/was any heat treating on the barrel it is going to change. Drive them out with a squib rod. Heat treating is not a paint or other applied product. It is a hardening process that steel goes through when heated to a set temperature. Six hundred degrees does not even approach the amount of heat needed to affect the steel that gun barrels are made from. I'm not certain what steels gun barrels are typically made from. I'm assuming a 4140 or 4150. 600 degrees is in the tempering range for many tool and alloy steels. For example, here's a tempering chart for 4140 4140 and 4150 are both used. Also 8620, 17-4, and 416. There are others I'm sure. |
| I would not heat that barrel. Gun steel is typically in the mid to upper 20 RC range which is the range at which steel is considered to be easily machinable. It is not heat treated after machining or warpage would be a real problem and costly to avoid. In my opinion you may just further anneal your barrel making it a few points softer. Will it blow up I don't know but do you want to risk it? |
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